Absorbent bandage.



PATENTE!) JAN. 16, 1906. W. R. GREEN. n ABSORBENT BANDAGE.

APPLIOATION FILED .TUNE 10, 1904.

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WILLARD R. GREEN, OF M'USCATINE, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICANABSORBENT FIBER COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

ABSORBENT BANDAGE.

Patented Jan. 1c, 1906.

To all whom it' may cancel/'71,:

Be it known that I, WILLARD R. GREEN, a citizen of the United States,residing in Muscatine, in the county of Muscatine and State of Iowa,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Absorbent Bandages,of which the following is a specification.

My present improvements relate to that class of articles commonly knownas Habsorbent bandages,77 the object being to furnish an improvedarticle of this kind adapted to be made at a low cost and which shall atthe same time be of an efficient character both for the reception andthe retention of fiuid and semifiuid substances.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bandage made in accordance with mypresent improvements. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view, somewhatdiagrammatic in character, taken in line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detailview illustrative of the preferred form of one of the members of thearticle as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a llpngitudinal sectional viewtaken in line 4 4,

iig. 2.

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

In absorbent bandages designed for taking up relatively thick fluids orsemiiiuids there is often a tendency for the thicker portions to form aclose layer on the surface portion of the absorbent body or mass, and socheck the flowage and proper distribution of the fluids in the mass. Toprovide for this, I furnish the bandage with an upper member, as 5,having an open-work or chambered construction adapted for permitting arelatively free descent through said upper member of the fluid orsemifluid substances into the retaining mass, as 6, of absorptivematerial.

In the drawings the absorbent mass 6 is shown carried in some suitablecover-sheet, which is indicated in a general way by 8. This covering orholder may consist of a suitable fabric, preferably waterproofed, oflight weight, which may, if desired, be specially woven for the purpose.The ends of the sheet are shown folded to form attaching portions 8 and8 for the bandage. In practice this fold may be made as indicated, forinstance in Fig. l, the edges 9 and 11 being folded one over the otherand held in place by a metallic fastener or by stitching or othersuitable connecting means, as indicated, for instance, at 13.

In Figs. 2 and 4 the absorbent mass 6 is shown consisting of the upperportion 16 and the lower and outer portion 26. The portion 16 directlysupports the upper or surface member 5 and is preferably of a relativelyopen texture as compared with the lower mass 26. In practice I make saidportion 16 of wood in the form of thin and narrow shavings mingled andintermeshed in miscellaneous directions and compacted sufficiently toform relatively large distribution and conduction spaces and to formretaining smaller spaces having relatively the character of capillaryspaces. Excelsior may be employed for this portion of the bandage. Thesefeatures are illustrated in a somewhat diagrammatic way in Fig. 2 andiii which certain of the larger spaces are indicated by 12, while thereis indicated by 14 other locations or regions within the general mass,in

which the spaces are represented of a smaller size, resulting from suchcompacting or compression ofthe mingled material as will bring aconsiderable portion of the space into such small dimensions as to havethe desired capillary and retention power or quality.

Wood in the form of small and narrow shavings or strands to these beingpreferably substantially flat in section, when mingled together inmiscellaneous directions in a mass suitably compressed or compacted toVthe proper density thereby acquires a character and develops qualitiesthat make it peculiarly adapted for use in this class of absorbentarticles. This woody mass has its meshes or internal spaces brought someof them within the form and dimensions required for producing acapillary retention capacity for liquids such as blood or those having aserum or watery component combined with a coagulative component, whileother portions of the space will thus be left in a form and dimensionconstituting ramiiied distribution spaces, which also in the presentinstance form conduits for passing the fiuids downward into the lowermass 26. It will be understood, however, that in some cases nthe entiremass 6 may be formed of such or similar woody fiber or strands or may beformed of ordinary vegetable fiberH so called-such, for instance, ascotton or linen.

The upper member 5 is shown in the form (which I deem preferable) of aperforated sheet material folded or shaped on numerous transverse linesinto undulations or corrugations, as 17 and 18, of which 17 are thelower and 18 the upper transverse ribs or transverse members of theseries comprised in the member 5. These transverse members, as 17 18,serve to render the member 5 relatively non-compressible and inelasticin a direction laterally of the bandage, while freely permitting thesame to bend flatwise of itself. The member 5 is preferablynon-iibrous---that is, non-absorptive-as compared with the member 6,although some kinds of paper, especially ifin sheet form and suitablytreated or prepared, may be employed for making said side-bracingmember.

A further obj ect obtained by the combination above mentioned is theprovision in the receiving member 5 of numerous small chambers orcell-like spaces, as 20 22, these being also arranged in lower and upperseri es or tiers 20 and 22, respectively, which are connected with eachother by suitable openings, as 21. In practice other well-known forms offolding and of cell construction may be employed in the member 5 in lieuof the simple form of corrugation shownin this case. Said chambers orcells being located at the receiving-surface of the bandage constitutetransmission-conduits to the absorbent mass 6 also, by reason of theirarrangement, and especially by their being connected together, serve asmeans-of ventilation for the interior of the bandage while in use. Themember 5 When of the form illustrated constitutes, in effect, a combinedreceiving and resistance member.

In Fig. 2 the fiber mass 26, preferably consisting of relatively finevegetable fiber stock-such as cotton, linen, or the likeis Shown broughtup over the edges at 5 of the member 5, thus serving to close the openends of the chamber-spaces, as 20 22, while serving also to cushion thebandage along the edges thereof, and, furthermore, forming a directabsorption means for immediately taking up the more fluid or serum likeportions of the material to be absorbed, while the thicker portions passgradually down through the chamber-space of said receiving member intothe portion 16 (when this is used) of the absorbent mass. Preferablythis portion 16 isof a relatively coarse and open character, for reasonselsewhere herein more fully set forth.

For closing in, or partially doing so, the chambers or cells, as 22, ofthe member 5 I prefer to provide this member with a surface sheet, as25, preferably of fabric, and this of relatively open mesh.A `In-.somecases this surface sheet may be attached directly to the upper folds ofthe member 5, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 4. This attachment may be madeby using a waterproof cement or by stitching or otherwise, or in somecases, the edges of the sheet 25 may be so far extended down between themass 6 and its containing cover-sheet as to be properly held in placethereby. When arranged in this latter manner, the meshes of the surfacesheet operate in combination with the surface or upper portion of themember 5 by a sliding movement thereon in a manner analogous to thatwhich occurs between the upper and lower surface sheets when two ofthese are employed. There is also, as will be evident, a correspondinginteraction between the member 5 and the portion 16 of the mass 6. Whenthe fiber or strands of the portion 16 of this mass 6 are made of woodymaterial and are mingled together and suitably compacted to the properdensity to form the desired capillary retention-spaces, with relativelylarge conducting-spaces ramifying throughout the absorbent mass, theupper edges of such strands then operate (especially on the bending ofthe bandage) to clear away by a scraping or abrasive action matter thatwould otherwise adhere to the under side of said member 5. Thisparticular coaction of the woody strands with the chambers or cells ofsaid surface member is in some cases of importance, since it tends alsoto increase the receptivity of the absorbent mass below, especially whenit is required that this mass shall rapidly take up a relatively largeamount of semifluid material.

The woody fiber-like strands which I prefer for use in the upper portionof the mass 6 have the important advantage of being highly resistant tothe matting or felting tendency that is an especially prominent andobjectionable quality of cotton and other analogous fibers of theso-called vegetable class when these become saturated. This superiorquality of the woody material in that respect thus assists inmaintaining the high absorptive and distributive capacity of the wholemass.

The receiving member 5, besides providing for the series of cells orchambers, also constitutes a side brace, which in the present instanceis located at or near the top of the bandage and,while flexible,constitutes,in combination with the other members of the bandage, aresistance device or brace for preventing the undue collapse of thebandage laterally by reason of side pressure thereon and in this mannerserves also to prevent accidental discharge or expulsion of any fluidscontained within the bandage. The cellspaces or chamber-space serve as areceptacle .for

uickly taking up a considerable quantity of duid and for retaining thesame while being IOO IIO

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gradually absorbed into the absorptive material or mass 6, and thusfinally disposed of. Said spaces also at a later time serve as permanentreceptacles for such thicker portions of the fluids as may have becomesegregated from the serumlike portions during such process ofabsorption.

One of the objects and advantages sought to be obtained by means of thepresent improvement and also by the improvements in the same art setforth in my several concurrently-pending applications for absorbentbandages is to provide for the manufacture of the bandages at a lovvcost and for the use in such manufacture of materials of allow cost andemployed in a minimum quantity. For this purpose and also to provide fora high degree of receptivity and distributive capacity, `but especiallyto reduce the amount of absorptive material Which Would otherwise berequired in a bandage of a given and proper bulk or size, I employ sucha construction of the component members of the bandave as will secure anopen space in the nature o chamber-space or cell-space, these spacesserving in part as receptacles for the quick reception of fluid orsemifluid material and also serving as distributive means fortransmitting the same more gradually to the absorptive portions of thebandage. Also such space or spaces Will in general serve to finallyreceive and retain portions of material which would otherwise have to betaken up by the absorptive or fibrous portions of the bandage.

The perforated and corrugated side-bracing member and such member havinga coarse-mesh fabric attached to the summits thereof are not claimed,broadly, herein, since they constitute in part the subject-matter of mycopending applications, Serial No. 211,926, filed June 10, 1904, andSerial No. 212,276, filed June 13, 1904.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- In anabsorbent bandage, thecombination With a cover-sheet, of an absorbent mass contained thereinand having the upper portion of such mass formed of relatively coarseWoody strands intermingled together and a loWer portion of relativelyfine liber, and a chambered, receiving-surface member located above saidabsorptive mass.

Signed at Nos. 9 to 15 Murray street, New York, N. Y., this 7th day ofJune, 1904. WILLARI) R. GREEN.

Witnesses:

FRED. J. DOLE., JOHN O. SEIFERT.

